Free for all

JEFF FITLOW

Carolyn Adams, program coordinator for the Humanities Research Center, was among the those who took advantage of Rice’s first “free”-cycling event, held at Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall May 21. Departments dropped off their excess or unused office supplies in the morning, and in the afternoon those items that had been one department’s surplus became another’s provisions — for free.

Thirty-six tables were filled with various office supplies, including an abundance of binders, which proved to be a popular item. “At the end of the day, we had nine binders left out of several hundred,” said Ute Franklin, manager of Delivery Services.

Items that were not claimed by the end of the event were slated for donation to a charitable organization.

Organizers also accepted items for recycling, and they received dozens of used toner cartridges and hundreds of pounds of electronics.

“Everybody who participated thought it was a great idea,” Franklin said. “This event saved the university thousands of dollars.”

The free-cycling event was sponsored by Delivery Services and the offices of Sustainability, Environmental Health and Safety, Procurement and the Vice President for Administration.